Neil Sedaka

Neil Sedaka's early promise as a pianist was cultivated with a scholarship to the prestigious Juilliard School of Music. He met his long term songwriting partner Howard Greenfield, son of a neighbour, when they were both still teenagers.

Although he had formed a group (The Tokens) in the early days, he was solo by the time he was 18. It took some time for him to achieve success in his own right, and his first visit to the top of the charts was as a songwriter for “Stupid Cupid”, performed by Connie Francis.

After he signed to RCA he found a small success with “The Diary” and “I Go Ape”. Together, the songs opened the floodgates and a series of popular hits followed including “Oh Carol”, “Breaking Up is Hard To Do” and “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen”. His contract with RCA ran out in 1966 and, though he was a huge success by that time, it was not renewed. Undaunted, he signed to Screen Gems as a songwriter and continued his success writing hits for other people.

In the early 70s he moved to Britain and released several well received albums, Emergence (1971), Solitaire (1972) and The Tra La Days are Over (1973), but it was the release of Laughter in the Rain (1974) and its hugely successful title track, that helped Sedaka regain his international fame. His fame waned somewhat in the 80s and by the 90s he had turned his attentions to classical music, recording Classically Sedaka in 1995.

During the course of his long career he has released over 30 albums, though latterly his output has been predominated by retrospectives. He continues to tour and record to the delight of his army of dedicated fans.